Chapter 245: Sixty-Fourth Floor, Intelligence (4)

[Support the agent in their espionage mission. Time remaining: 91 hours 23 minutes.]

It wasn’t that I hadn’t considered what kind of person would show up or how they would react to us.

However, my brain continued churning out possibilities, and my expectations hadn’t settled. This could be one of the Imperial spies we were on the lookout for, another herbalist like us, a mercenary, or even a villager.

Despite all my ideas, this mysterious woman’s sudden appearance fell completely outside of my expectations. Even more bewildering was her expression of recognition and warmth upon seeing Parein.

Do they know each other?

I observed her closely. Small, fur-covered ears peeked out from her head, confirming that she wasn’t a human.

She seemed to be a beastfolk[1], something I had only heard about in stories.

I turned to Parein and saw him frowning, clearly confused. On closer inspection, I noticed a certain sharpness in his look.

Seemingly ignoring that, the woman approached us with a bright smile, waving cheerfully. “There you are, Senior! I’m glad I caught you before you entered the village.”

Her eyes turned to me. “And that means you are the infamous... Nameless. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Infamous Nameless.

She used the exact same phrasing as Parein. Considering the slight pause between her words, she didn’t seem to be making a joke like he had.

I nodded slightly, and the woman tilted, looking at me with a puzzled expression. “You’re different from what I heard. There’s something about you, a good energy.”

A good energy? What, is she some kind of spiritualist?

I dismissed the thought and glanced at Parein. This wasn’t my business, so there was no reason for me to step in.

I deliberately ignored her, and she turned back to Parein.

Parein, who had remained tight-lipped with a hardened expression, demanded, “What are you doing here?”

“I was given orders.”

“That shouldn’t be possible.” Parein gazed at her suspiciously as he stared her down. “Black Butterfly summoned the Powders, but the fact that I became a Pollen is something only the Wing and I know.”

“That’s because the orders came from the Wing,” she countered immediately.

Based on what I had just heard, it seemed like Black Butterfly was led by a single high-ranking official. Powders appeared to refer to agents, while Pollens seemed to indicate those actively deployed on missions.

Wing, Powders, Pollens. Are those code names really necessary?

Even as an outsider, I could understand them at a glance; they weren’t exactly cryptic.

Well, I guess this kind of thing was common back on Earth, too.

Plenty of organizations, whether in media or real life, clung to strange traditions in the name of heritage. Even my old high school club had been like that.

I nearly got lost in the thought when the woman continued, “The situation has changed. The Ears of the Empire’s movements are beyond anything we could have imagined. They’ve spread their ears across the entire North. The plan to move while disguised as civilians is scrapped. I’m here to deliver new orders.”

“Just to deliver a message?”

“Of course not. I’ll be moving with you. As you know, Senior. You’re...” Her gaze flickered toward me. She seemed hesitant to openly discuss Parein’s skillset in front of me. “... that, and I specialize in infiltration.”

The sharp atmosphere had made her slip up and admit her own specialty.

She hadn’t revealed Parein’s role, but judging by what I had seen so far, he was likely a skilled infiltrator.

He still didn’t let his guard down, though. His right hand slowly and subtly inched toward his back—toward a hidden dagger, I assumed.

So he does get serious when needed.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

For a moment, it felt like I was seeing a completely different Parein.

“When did the Wing give you the orders?”

“Yesterday.”

“Nameless was summoned three days ago, and I left two days ago. We met yesterday morning. If you only got your orders yesterday, how could you have made it here already?” Parein said coldly, his suspicion unwavering.

The woman let out a dry laugh. “You’re always like this, Senior, but this is a little disappointing. How could you suspect me?”

Parein didn’t answer. He only stared at her, eyes demanding an explanation.

She sighed, then continued, “I finished my last mission and was resting at the Sahadin branch. You know, nearby. It’s like a day’s travel from here.”

She looked to him for confirmation, and Parein gave a small nod.

“Yesterday afternoon, the Wing came flying in on a dragon. I was given my orders then, along with the meeting location for you and Nameless. I traced the shortest route to Kalin from that point, and this village was on the way. That’s why I knew you’d be here.”

Again, she sought his agreement, but Parein’s expression remained cold.

“It was obvious you’d come this way. The Wing graciously lent me their dragon, and I landed near Imperial territory before waiting for you here.”

After finishing, she let out a breath. Logically, nothing seemed out of place. I was an outsider, so I had no way of knowing the internal details anyway.

What caught me off guard was how they talked about dragons. From what she had said, citizens of this world used dragons for travel, like horses. The dragons I had met so far would never tolerate that.

Are dragons in this world different?

That had to be the case. Otherwise, it made no sense.

A brief silence settled. Still staring intently at the woman, Parein dropped his tone and asked, “One last thing. Did the Wing give you the mission name?”

“Yes.”

“Say it.”

“Nameless Herbalist. Satisfied now?” she uttered sharply, almost irritated.

Only then did Parein finally lower his hand from his waist.

His expression softened, a grin spreading across his face. “Shit. My bad. You know how I am. The situation’s serious, so I had to be extra careful. You get it, right?”

“Whatever. It’s not like this is the first time.” She waved a hand dismissively, her face loosening just a little. Annoyed, but seemingly understanding.

Parein stepped closer and changed the topic. “Alright, let’s go over the mission again. You said the Ears of the Empire have spread across the North?”

“Yes. The closer we get to Kalin, the worse it gets. Ordinary herbalists won’t cut it anymore. They haven’t outright banned travel, but they’re watching everyone closely. In fact, Langam’s Spiders were just caught—”

Parein suddenly moved. His fist shot forward, thrusting forward at an inhuman speed. The motion was sharp and precise, but to me, it was almost in slow motion.

Even though the woman was mid-explanation, she caught on to his movement at the last second.

Regardless, it was still too late for her to react.

She inhaled sharply, instinctively raising her left arm to block. Unfortunately for her, Parein’s fist drove into her solar plexus before she could raise it in time.

“Hngh—! K-kgh!”

She jerked from the force, hitting the ground and completely unable to resist.

I didn’t show it, but I was a little surprised.

Wasn’t the conversation going well?

Parein grabbed her by the hair and lifted her up. She had been hit so hard that she was still struggling to breathe.

“Khck... khh! Hrgh!”

Parein spat in the woman’s face. “You bitch. Nameless Herbalist is a cover. The Wing made it clear that no one else was being deployed for this mission, no matter what. They said if things went wrong, we could die. That we had to judge the situation for ourselves.”

As the woman lay on the ground, I took a moment to process the situation.

So everything she had said—the Wing, dragons, and her mission—was likely a complete lie.

A double agent, huh? Damn. This trial just keeps getting wilder.

I thought this floor was supposed to only be a secret agent experience.

Parein pulled his dagger from his belt and pressed it against the woman’s throat. “I don’t even need to ask what you were planning. You stuck close to us to steal intel or take something and run. Or maybe you were planning to hand us over to the Ears of the Empire.”

The woman remained silent.

Parein’s voice turned as cold as ice. “Who do you work for? The Ears of the Empire? Langam’s Spiders? Leodren’s White Rose?”

The woman gritted her teeth, the fury in her eyes almost tangible. Interestingly, her anger wasn’t directed at Parein, but at the fact that things had gone south.

“Well, knowing you, torturing you wouldn’t reveal anything. And honestly, I don’t have the time to waste on that. Some damn rats even made it into Black Butterfly. If you know about Nameless Herbalists, that means this runs pretty deep.”

Although his tone had remained constant this entire time, I could tell he was angry. I understood why. Finding out someone you had trusted—even if only a little—was a traitor would make anyone feel miserable.

Watching things unfold, I felt like an outsider, as if I were just watching a movie. Parein and the woman had stopped paying attention to me entirely.

Ever since they had started talking, they had been locked in an invisible battle of wits. Not that I minded, though. As an outsider, I could view the situation objectively. That was why a thought crossed my mind.

Is this just a random event?

Some events during a trial were meaningful and directly tied to a hidden mission, while others could impact the end result significantly. I still wasn’t sure which category this woman fell into. If it were the former, then I would need to take action to ensure she lived.

However, I had no way of knowing for sure.

Parein raised the dagger in preparation to kill his former colleague. “When I finish this mission and head back, I’ll have to make sure we clean the house. Don’t take it personally. That’s just how our job works.”

Nothing she had done had hinted at a hidden mission, and I had no reason to stop him, especially since bringing her along would only add unnecessary risk.

If she were with the Ears of the Empire, then keeping her alive meant walking straight into the enemy’s jaws.

Sure, I would probably survive, but helping intelligence agents to the best of my abilities would allow me to receive the best reward possible.

Still, something nagged at me—not just intuition but logical reasoning.

Letting her live is the right call.

In most trials, I was the central figure. The events revolved around me, and my actions were what pushed things forward.

Of course, there were some outliers where that wasn’t the case, but I couldn’t recall ever being a mere bystander, just watching events unfold like this.

Until now, I had been treating this like a movie.

It was time to make the story mine.

As I finished organizing my thoughts, Parein plunged his dagger downward. Shouting wouldn’t do anything, so I prepared to activate Flash Strike.

However, I remembered Angelina’s warning.

Can I stop it just by moving?

The question flashed through my mind for a split second before I came to a conclusion.

Yes, I can.

I covered myself in a thin layer of mana and kicked off the ground. Even without using Flash Strike, I shot forward like a gust of wind.

Just before the dagger pierced the woman’s throat, I grabbed Parein’s arm. I still retained some inertia, causing his arm to tremble in my grip as he fought the change in force.

A single drop of blood trickled from a small cut on the woman’s neck.

“That’s enough.”

Neither of them seemed to hear me. Their eyes, wide with shock, said it all. Even in the face of life and death, they had both registered my speed. The fact that I had moved like a storm without using any techniques shook them.

Their gazes slowly traveled from my feet up to my face while disbelief flickered in their eyes.

As trained agents, however, they both quickly regained their composure.

The woman remained still, relief spreading crossing her face.

Parein, on the other hand, irritatedly shouted, “What the hell are you doing?”

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has saved the double agent ‘Langley.’ The hidden mission ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’ has now commenced.」

1. Individuals with both human and animal traits; their appearance can vary widely. ☜